Dance with My Father
by Writing4ever4God
Summary: Takes place after "The Greatest of Gifts."  Emily has one more hurdle to jump before she fully heals from the loss of her father.  Can Matt help her do so?  R/R


DISC: I DO NOT own any of the ponies you recognize in this story. They belong to Hasbro. I do however own all of the Human characters used in this story

God loves you

A/N: I Hope everyone likes this story and it helps you in some way.

"Dance with My Father"

It was a lovely day in Ponyland. But this story doesn't start out in Ponyland. This particular story starts out over the Rainbow in Nebraska.

Matt had just taken Emily, Julie and Kassie to get some ice cream. They were just heading back to Abby's and then going to Ponyland from there.

The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"Are you guys ready to leave?" Matt asked as he stared in the rear view mirror at Emily, Julie and Kassie.

"Ae." Emily replied.

"You bet. " Kassie replied.

Matt grinned at the three kids and took off for Abby's place.

Turning the radio on, Matt wasn't aware of what would happen next.

As another song started, nobody realized what it was until the singer started singing the first verse.

All of a sudden Julie exclaimed. "Emily!"

At the sound of Julie's exclamation, Matt gazed in the rearview mirror and his heart broke at the sight.

Julie had her arm around Emily. The little girl was crying-and crying hard. She was also shaking.

Puzzled about what could have made the little girl so upset, he stopped the car.

"Matt, turn the radio off!" Julie realized as the chorus of the song came around. "Turn off the radio!"

Matt obeyed. He knew Julie didn't' normally yell at adults, but this was an emergency.

Rather than turning it off, he switched it to their song, "Always."

This helped a little, but not by much.

"Emily, shh, it's okay now. " Julie assured her cousin and best friend. "Matt switched the song."

Emily shook her head as the tears continued to fall.

Matt took matters into his own hands. He had a feeling what was going on and got them home quickly.

Once that was done, he instructed Julie to take Kassie into the house while he talked to Emily.

Julie hesitated, but Matt assured her she could come back in ten minutes.

Julie nodded and did as she was told. She gave her cousin a kiss and hug before taking Kassie into the house.

Once they were gone, Matt got into the back of the car and slid in beside the distraught little girl.

"Emele?" He asked softly. He reached his hand out and rested it on her shoulder.

To his shock and surprise, Emily jerked away and continued to cry.

"Emele, it's okay." Matt tried. "I'm right here. I wanna help, but I can't if you wont' talk to me. You can take your time. It's okay to-"

"No!" Emily shouted. She glared at Matt, which was surprising in itself. She had never done that before. "I don't want you!" She yelled something in Hawaiian that Matt understood completely.

Without warning, Emily sprung from the car and started to run. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away. She needed to be alone.

Matt knew it too, but he also knew he couldn't' let her be alone right now-even if she had just turned ten a few weeks ago.

Deciding to give Emily a few minutes alone, Matt went into the house to explain to Abby what had happened.

"I'm gonna go after her." Matt told her. "I'll be back."

Abby nodded.

"Okay. BE careful." She said.

"I will be." Matt replied. He was just about to leave, when Julie stopped him.

"Matt, wait! Can I come with you, please? I won't get in the way, I promise. But Emily's my best friend besides Charlotte. I wanna help her."

Matt smiled at her lovingly.

"You're never in the way, sweetheart. Come on." With that, they both left.

As they began to walk to the spot where Matt was sure Emily was, they heard the loud speaker of someone's stereo come on.

As Matt heard the song, his heart broke a little more for his Kamali'i wahine.

Now that he knew what song it had been, he understood why Emily had gotten so upset.

He just prayed she would let them help her when they did find her again. He had a feeling Emily was at the beach, but he knew she could also be a number of other places. He was relying on his love for Emily and getting to know her over the last three years to help them find her.

He just prayed he was right.

Meanwhile, Emily was sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. She was still crying as the ocean crashed around her. The sound brought her comfort, even though she was in a great deal of pain.

It was true Matt had helped her to heal from her father's death, but sometimes the pain would come back in tidal waves at the most unexpected times.

When she had heard the words of that song, the tears came and she couldn't' stop them.

The song spoke of what she longed to do more than anything.

It also brought back memories of a time back when Emily was little and everything was right in her world…

Flashback

Five-year-old Emily giggled as her father, Sam, picked her up and hugged her close.

"May I have this dance, young lady?" He asked.

"Ae, you may." Emily replied.

"Mahalo my Kamali'i wahine." With that, he lifted her high in the air and started to dance with her to a soft Hawaiian tune they both liked a lot.

As he twirled Emily around, she felt her feet touch the ground a minute later.

Taking her hand in his, Sam twirled her around to the soft rhythm of the music.

Before Emily knew it, she was in her father's arms once again and he was twirling her around as he had done when they had first started to dance.

She snuggled in and sighed with contentment as she felt her father hold her close.

As Sam continued to dance with her in his arms, Emily fell asleep in the safest place she knew.

Instead of tucking her in right away, Sam took her out onto the beach and sat with her in his embrace.

He sat there and sung her a song in Hawaiian before taking her back to the house.

As he tucked her in, he landed a soft kiss to her cheek and stroked her hair once.

"I love you, Emele." He said. "Sweet dreams, my Kamali'i wahine." With that, he left the room, satisfied that his little girl was safe and sound…

As the flashback ended, another one invaded the little girl's mind. This one was just as happy as the last, even though it brought more tears to her eyes.

Flashback

"Emily, come on, sweetheart. We need to go now." Lelani said gently.

They had been at the beach for the past few hours. Emily was having a great time and she knew her father was as well.

As she saw him coming to join them after throwing away their trash from their picnic, she ran to him with her brown eyes full of hope.

"Daddy, do we have to leave?" She asked. "Mama says we have to go, but I don't want to. I'm having fun! Can we stay, o'lu'ulu?"

Sam chuckled at his little girl-his pride and joy. He swept her up in his arms. He started tickling her tummy and ribs.

This got Emily to giggle. She soon forgot about why she was upset and started smiling again.

"That's the pretty smile I love so much." He said. "Now, I know you wanna stay, but we'll come back tomorrow." He promised. "Now, why don't you help your mother put the cooler and things into the car." With that, he set Emily down and sent her off with a playful swat to her bottom.

Emily giggled as she ran off to help her mother load things into the car for the journey home. She knew her father would keep his word. That meant they would be back very soon…

As the memories washed over Emily while the tide washed over the rocks below her, she let out a painful sob, followed by another and another.

As a final memory came into her mind, she tried to shut it out. But it was relentless. It came as quickly as she had lost her father…

Flashback

Seven-year-old Emily sat in the living room, waiting for her father to read to her before going to bed. The two always read together and it was something they enjoyed doing.

Sam had taught Emily how to read at the age of four. And since then, Emily read anything and everything she could get her hands on.

When she saw her father enter the room, Emily grinned a mile wide.

"So what do you wanna read?" She asked.

"How would you like to dance tonight instead?" He suggested.

Emily was overjoyed by the suggestion. She jumped to her feet and bowed to him just like she had done so many times before over the last four years.

"May I have this dance?" She asked.

"I'd be honored." Sam said. With that, he lifted his Kamali'i wahine high in the air and twirled her around once again.

Emily fell asleep like always, not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

Sam smiled as he tucked his daughter in bed and kissed her cheek lovingly.

He stayed with her for a little while after she was asleep. He didn't know why, he just felt he had to spend this time with her.

He talked to her sleeping form, telling her he loved her and how proud he was that she was his daughter. He spoke of how happy she made him and how he would always love her.

The next day, he was taken from Emily as fast as the tide went out after a storm.

She didn't think she would ever smile again, but over time she learned to survive. That didn't mean she didn't miss him, she missed him terribly. She always would…

As the final memory washed over her, she broke down, heart wrenching sobs filling the silence around her.

She didn't care who heard her and she also didn't care if she was discovered. She was hurting and she needed to get this out of her system.

Meanwhile, Matt and Julie were still looking for Emily. They had been searching the beach for the last half an hour.

It wasn't until they approached the cliffs, did Julie spot her.

"Matt, there she is!" She called. "There she is!"

Matt thanked God as he shortened the distance between himself and Emily.

As Emily heard Julie's familiar voice, she prepared herself to run. She stood up and was about to take off again when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

It was one she hadn't heard in over four years and one she missed terribly.

"Don't run, Emele. Let Matt help you. He loves you so much. Let him help you."

Overcome by shock and pain over missing her father, Emily collapsed on the cliff once again, more tears streaming down her face.

As Matt and Julie approached her, Emily stayed where she was.

"Emele?" Matt started. "I know you're hurting. I wanna help you, sweetheart."

"I know." Emily said softly. "I'm sorry I ran from you."

Those two simple words alone made Matt fight back tears of his own.

Here this little girl was in so much pain and she felt like she had to apologize to him.

"Matt? " Julie asked a little uncertainly.

"It's okay, Jules." Matt said. He turned his attention back to Emily. "Emele, you don't have to be sorry for anything. I know you're upset."

Emily was silent and then she started to speak once again.

"Daddy and I used to dance together." Emily recalled softly. "He would lift me high in the air and twirl me around and I fell asleep in his arms. The night before…the night before the accident, he wanted to dance with me instead of read. I didn't know why, but I knew it was important that we danced that night. We had fun, but it was more than that. It was like he was trying his best to spend as much time with me that night as he could. It was like he knew. He knew….he wouldn't be there the next day. He stayed with me after I fell asleep. He talked to me for hours, telling me…he told me he loved me and he was proud of me. He said he was proud to be my father and he would always love me. Then the next day…the next day he was gone!" With that, Emily broke down once again.

Matt followed his heart this time and reached over and took her into his arms. He hugged the sobbing girl close and started stroking her hair.

He started talking to her in Hawaiian. This meant Julie couldn't understand what he was saying.

Julie stepped forward and put a hand on Emily's shoulder. She wanted her best friend to feel better too.

"I miss him so much!" Emily cried. "If I could have one more chance to…I would give anything to just have one more dance with…" Her voice trailed off as she continued to cry.

Matt could do nothing except be there for her. It was breaking his heart to see Emily in so much pain. While it was true he had helped her to heal from the loss, he knew she would still have days like this. And even though they weren't as frequent as they once were, he still knew they hurt.

Matt ended up carrying Emily all the way back to Abby's house with Julie walking beside them.

When they got back to Abby's, Naia and Firefly were waiting to take them back to Ponyland.

Naia frowned in worry when she saw the state Emily was in.

"Is Em gonna be okay?" Naia asked. "What happened?"

Matt sighed.

"I'll explain when we get back home."

Naia nodded.

Julie climbed on Firefly and Matt got on Naia.

When they returned to Ponyland, Matt tucked Emily in bed. He landed a kiss to her forehead and ruffled her hair once. He sat down on the side of the bed and started softly singing in Hawaiian.

Emily stayed asleep throughout this.

Matt hoped if she woke up suddenly, the familiar song would help her feel better.

Finally, an hour later, Matt left the room. He had to get some sleep of his own.

Mahina met him at the door.

"Is my Mama sad?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so, sweetheart. Why don't you stay with her until she wakes up." With that, he placed the baby pony next to her mother and watched as she curled up beside her.

"Okay, Uncle Matt." Mahina replied. "I'll keep Mama safe."

"I know you will." Matt replied. With that, he left the room and headed for the kitchen.

Emily awoke with a start a few hours later. She looked around and noticed she wasn't in her room at Paradise Estate anymore.

From the looks of things, she wasn't even in Ponyland anymore.

"Where am I?" She asked aloud. She got up and started walking around.

It looked like she was on a beach of some kind. It looked familiar, but the little girl couldn't place it right away.

It wasn't until she heard a familiar song, did she realize where she was.

Following the music, she found herself in what looked like her old house.

But why? And how had she gotten here?

Just then, someone joined her. Someone she had wanted to see for the last three years now.

Her face broke into a grin as the figure came closer until they were mere inches apart.

"Daddy!" She squealed.

Sam nodded. He gave her one of his famous smiles he only reserved for her.

As Emily felt her father wrap his arms around her, she couldn't hold back the tears.

Sam simply held her as she cried.

Once she had calmed down, Sam planted a kiss on her cheek before saying the five words she had longed to hear since he was taken from her.

"may I have this dance?"

Emily nodded. She couldn't speak right then. She was too overcome by tears and joy.

As they started dancing, Emily felt like she was five once again. She felt safe and once more, she didn't want the feeling to go away.

As her father twirled her around much like he had done when she was little, she let the music carry her along and a small smile spread across her face.

As they danced, Sam held her in his arms and said, "All that stuff I said to you before…before it happened, I meant it. I love you and I'll never stop. I'm so proud of you, Emele. You've come so far and I couldn't be prouder."

Emily nodded.

"So you're not mad at me for giving you a granddaughter before I was eighteen?"

Sam shook his head.

"Of course not! You were meant to find her, my moon angel."

Emily felt the tears once again as her father used his special name for her.

"I love you, Daddy." Emily said as they continued to dance for what seemed like forever.

"I love you too, my Kamali'i wahine. I will always love you. I'll always be there for you, even though I'm not with you on earth. You need to know that. And I want you to give Matt a chance. I know you two are close. But you know what I mean."

Emily did know what her father was talking about. Still, she didn't know if she could.

"I don't think I can." Emily said honestly.

"I know you can." Sam said lovingly. "You can do anything." With that, he twirled her around one more time.

As Emily snuggled into her father's loving embrace, she started feeling tired.

She shook herself in order to stay awake. She couldn't fall asleep now. If she did, her father would be gone again. She had to stay awake.

But the more they danced, the more comfortable Emily felt. This meant she also felt more exhausted by the minute.

"That's it." Sam soothed. "I love you, Emele. I will always love you."

Before Emily knew it, she had fallen asleep in her father's arms just like she had so many times before.

When Emily awoke, she found herself back in her room at the Estate.

She felt the tears once again as she realized her father wasn't there with her anymore.

She was ready to dismiss what had happened as a dream. But something told her to look underneath of her pillow.

She did so and was surprised to find the locket her father had given her on her sixth birthday laying there.

Scooping up the priceless treasure, Emily held it close as fresh tears streamed down her face.

It wasn't a dream after all. But if it wasn't' a dream, where had the locket come from? She had lost it a few days after her father had died.

It was then that she realized who had put it there.

"Mahalo, Daddy." Emily whispered. "I love you. Mahalo for the locket and Mahalo for one more dance. I love you." With that, she felt a sense of peace come over her. She still missed her father, but she knew she was going to be okay.

Sam would be watching over her and thanks to God, she had gotten one more dance with her father.

"Thank you, Father. " Emily said, gazing out of the window as her tears started to subside. "Thank you for letting me dance with my father one last time. Thank you. Please take care of him in Heaven." She then added softly, "I love you, Daddy." With that, she put the locket around her neck, snuggled beneath the covers, pulled Mahina close and fell asleep for the rest of the night.

She was planning on talking to Matt the next day. She owed him an apology and an explanation. She knew he didn't blame her, but she still needed to patch things up with him. She really did love him and think of him as a second father. She just prayed he would forgive her when she did talk to him.

The next morning, Emily awoke feeling refreshed. She still felt a little sad, but she was feeling better than she had the day before.

Sitting up in bed, Emily's hands flew to her neck to make sure the locket was still there.

To her relief, she found it securely around her neck.

She whispered a thank you to God and her Daddy before getting ready for the day.

After she was dressed, she left for the kitchen. She was feeling extremely hungry for some reason.

Getting there, she found Julie, Megan, Firefly, Naia and Medley hanging out.

"Morning!" She greeted them.

"Hey Em!" Naia said. She nuzzled her best friend as Emily wrapped her arms around her neck for a hug. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah." Emily replied truthfully. "I'm feeling a lot better."

"I'm glad." Naia said.

"So are we." Firefly said.

"Same here, cuz." Julie said. She walked over and gave her a hug and Emily returned it.

"Mahalo for your ko kua yesterday." She whispered so only Julie could hear her.

"No problem." Julie replied. "What are best friends for?"

Emily smiled in return before going to her seat for breakfast.

As breakfast wound down, Emily gazed around and noticed someone wasn't there.

"Where's Matt?" She asked Megan.

"He went in for a short shift at the radio station." Her cousin replied. "He'll be back after lunch."

"Okay."

Once breakfast was over, Emily helped Firefly do the dishes before going outside to hang out and enjoy the summer time weather.

Before Emily knew it, Matt had come back. He got off Paradise and walked towards the Estate.

Emily met him halfway. She gave him a smile before taking a deep breath.

"Matt, I…I'm really sorry." She said.

Matt shook his head.

"Emele, you don't have anything to apologize for. I understand why you did what you did." He assured her.

"Still." Emily said. "I wanna make it up to you. I have a surprise for you. Meet me in the living room." With that, she was gone.

Matt gave the others a puzzled look.

"Do any of you know what Emele is up to?" He asked.

"Nope." Molly replied.

"Sorry, man. " Mike said as he looked up from the game of checkers he was playing with Brooke and Ember.

Matt nodded. He shrugged and made his way into the living room.

When he got there, he heard Hawaiian music coming from the stereo Danny had installed a year ago.

Before he registered what was going on, Emily approached him. She gave him the smile she reserved for him and held out her hand.

"May I have this dance?" She asked.

Matt hesitated for a minute before his face broke into a grin.

Still, as he took her hand, he was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Emele, you don't have to…" He said, but the gentle smile on her face stopped him in mid sentence.

"I know." Emily replied. "I want to. Now, may I have this dance?"

Matt grinned as all the doubts he had felt vanished in an instant.

"Ae, you may." He replied.

"Mahalo." Emily replied. With that, they started to dance to a Hawaiian song Emily had liked dancing to when she was little.

As Matt twirled Emily around, she felt the pain in her heart lessen just a little.

Once the CD was over, another one came on.

As the song that had caused Emily so much pain started playing, she concentrated on Matt and found she could breathe again.

They danced through the song as though Emily had danced to it her whole life.

Matt scooped Emily into his arms for the final song and twirled her around one more time.

Emily allowed him to, feeling safe for the first time in three years.

Once the dance was over, Matt set Emily down and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Emele." He said sincerely. "I know how hard that was for you."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. Thanks for helping me."

"Any time, my Kamali'i wahine." He said as he ruffled her hair.

Emily smiled as she left to see what Megan and Julie were up to.

She was really hoping Julie and Megan would play a game of Trivia Pursuit: Disney style with her. She enjoyed playing the game and she had a great time whenever her cousins played it with her.

Later that night, Matt tucked Emily in bed and read with her. She enjoyed spending this time with him.

Once the book was over, Matt kissed Emily's cheek and stroked her hair.

"Sweet dreams, Em." He said lovingly. "I love you."

"I love you too. " Emily replied. With that, she fell asleep.

She awoke sometime later to feel a familiar presence near her.

"Daddy?" She asked sleepily.

"Shh," Sam said as he stroked her hair. "Go back to sleep. I'm very proud of you. I saw what you did. I told you you could do it. I love you, my moon angel." With that, he kissed her cheek and was gone as fast as he had come.

Emily was suddenly wide awake. She checked on Mahina before seeing if Matt was awake.

They sometimes had late night chats while drinking a cup of hot chocolate.

She found him in the living room. He looked like he had been waiting for her.

She smiled as she approached him.

"Aloha." She said softly.

"Aloha, Emele." He replied lovingly.

It was then that Emily heard the music softly playing in the background. She hadn't noticed it until now.

Sensing what she needed, Matt smiled as he bowed to her.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

Emily grinned from ear to ear and bowed back.

"Ae, you may indeed." She replied.

And as they danced and Matt twirled her around in his arms, Emily smiled to herself.

Emily ended up falling asleep in Matt's arms as they were dancing. It didn't' feel as strange as she thought it would.

In fact, she couldn't think of a safer place to fall asleep.

THE END


End file.
